1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a compartment having pivoting receivers for pressurized tanks.
More specifically, this invention relates to the compartment described above wherein the access to the compartment has a minimal width so as to permit the enclosure to be secured in a cabinet or on a vehicle or the like so as to require a minimum opening width.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pressurized cylinders are used in a variety of applications. Pressurized cylinders are often provided with a compartment for receiving and dispensing them for a number of general reasons. One reason is to provide protection for the cylinders. A second reason is to incorporate the cylinders into an apparatus or piece of equipment. A third reason is to provide containment for a sudden discharge or explosion should there be a malfunction of some sort related to the cylinders.
Pressurized cylinders are placed in compartments in order to achieve a number of utilities. The principal utilities of compartments for pressurized cylinders are; to charge or fill the cylinders, to discharge or dispense gas from the cylinders, or to store the cylinders.
Compartments for pressurized cylinders can be stand alone units, but more frequently, they are incorporated into the structures of work stations, vehicles, air and water craft, or are incorporated into the structures of apparatus.
Heretofore, compartments for receiving pressurized cylinders were specific to their application and were designed for locations and circumstances related to that application.
U S. Pat. No. 5,404,921 to Lamoreaux et al. teaches a Rotary Fill Station for Breathing Apparatus. The station is provided with a fragment containment chamber having a carousel mounted to rotate about a vertical axis for the purpose of moving pressurized cylinders into and out of a fill chamber.
In general, the volume required for the compartment of Lamoreau and other similar prior art compartments is large relative to the volume of the cylinders contained within the compartment. In particular, the width of the front or access area is wide relative to the diameter of a tank contained therein.
It is an object of this invention to provide a general utility chamber for receiving and containing pressurized gas cylinders.
It is further an object of this invention to provide the chamber described above wherein the volume occupied by the chamber is smaller than similar prior art chambers.
More particularly it is an object of this invention to provide the chamber as described above wherein the width of the chamber is minimal.
Still more particularly it is an object of this invention to provide the chamber as described above with a rotating tank receiving unit which extends outward from the access opening when in a position to receive cylinders and the cylinders are received so that they enter the tank receivers one above the other and when the tank receiving unit is rotated into an upright position inside the compartment, the tanks are upright and one behind the other.
Other objects will become obvious from the following specifications, claims and drawings.
A space saving compartment for pressurized tanks, comprising: a rectangular metal compartment having a front, a back, a top, a bottom and two sides and the front is provided with an access door, tank mounts secured to the inside of the sides of the compartment and the tank mounts are positioned below the center of the compartment and closer to the front of the compartment than they are to the back, a tank receiving unit contained within the compartment and the tank receiving unit has a front, a back, a top, a bottom, and two sides and the two sides are provided with pivots projecting laterally outward from the sides to form a horizontal pivot axis and the pivots are pivotably engaged with the tank mounts, a multiplicity of cylindrical tank receivers formed as a part of the tank receiving unit and the tank receivers are open at their tops and the tank receivers have their cylindrical center lines parallel, and the tank receiving unit when rotated about its pivots projects outward from the compartment so that tank receivers in a file are positioned one over the other with their open tops in position to receive tanks, and when the tank receiving unit is rotated about its pivots so that the tanks contained therein are upright, and the compartment door is closed, the width of the compartment is minimal.